Nicki Minaj threatens to shoot Mariah Carey

Singer Nicki Minaj performs in Times Square during a show presented by Nokia to celebrate the release of their Lumia 900 smartphone, in New York. AP Photo/John Minchillo

American Idol judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey got into a heated argument during a recent audition in North Carolina, and it went as far as the 29-year-old singer threatening to kill the R and B queen. A production source told TMZ.com that Minaj, said: “If I had a gun, I would shoot her.”

The comment was not captured on the video that has surfaced of the two feuding and is thought to have been said outside of the 42-year-old’s earshot. However, the show’s boss, Nigel Lythgoe, dismissed the claims, saying: “The statement (that Nicki made a death threat) is absolute rubbish. It’s absolutely not true in any way, shape or form.”

Lythgoe said that Carey confronted the Superbass hitmaker to ask if she made the death threat, but Minaj denied making the comment. He suggested Carey’s team told her to stir up trouble. Production was shut down for the day after the argument. Fellow panelists Keith Urban and Randy Jackson were caught in the middle of the row. The row is said to have started due to a disagreement over a contestant’s performance.